Angelou was African-American and was born into a poor family. She had a difficult childhood and was abused as a child by someone she and her family trusted. I think this is one of the main talking points of the poem. During Maya’s childhood and young-adulthood the USA was a far worse place for ethnic minorities than the UK. Racism was policy, black Americans were forced to give up bus seats for white people, and could not use the same laundrettes as white people. Maya was a big part of MLK’s civil rights movement.
“Out from the huts of history’s shame
I Rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I Rise”
This reflects her feelings of her people’s history in America, the cruelties of the past have faded away to be replaced by hope and ascension to something better.
“Half-Caste” is packed with euphemisms and metaphors from start to finish. The most potent and intriguing of which is the first 3 lines of the poem.
“Excuse me
Standing on one leg
I’m Half-Caste”
The first observation I made of these lines was that they were written in standard English, the rest of the poem is not, it is all written in his dialect. It is written like this to show that people have made him feel as though his heritage is a hindrance, and it needs to be apologised for. Though he makes it very clear in the rest of the poem that he does not feel the same way.
“I half-caste human being
cast half a shadow”
This short phrase stood out for me because it is, like many other parts of the poem, sarcastic, and therefore humorous. He responds to abuse not with anger, but with a mixture of frustration, pity and amusement.
Also it shows that the abuser may see Agard’s heritage as a shadow; a burden he cannot escape.
Angelou’s poem contains just as many clever metaphors and euphemisms.
“I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise”
The “black” refers to her African heritage. “Ocean” represents how big and influential the black community has been to the human race.
‘Still I Rise’ is couplets all the way through with a clear pattern in the layout of the stanzas. One ends with “Still I’ll rise” or something similar, and the next one starts with a rhetorical question, for example “Did you want to see me broken?”. The poem ends with a climax of metaphor, repetition of “I Rise” and many references to slavery and poverty.
‘Half-Caste’ climaxes also, asking the person who questioned Agard’s heritage to treat him as he would treat a normal person rather than a half human abomination.
Both poems are autobiographical. They are both in the first person with references to someone in the second person, this involves the reader. ‘Half-Caste’ has greater effect when read out loud, especially when it is read by Agard himself in his dialect.
On the page it is hard to read and has no punctuation, but read aloud it flows and is easy to follow.
Both works contain alot of rhetorical questions
“You mean Tchaikovsky...
mix a black key
wid a white key
is a half caste symphony”
This explains that mixing two different things can work, and takes place in different forms all over our culture. Agard is making a reference to a famous composer of western music, showing he’s from a different culture, not a different planet. He’s had an education and knows about all cultures.
Angelou’s poems says things slightly differently to Agard, she expresses no frustration, only mild amusement, pride and a hint of pity for ignorant people.
“ ‘cause I dance like I got gold mines
diggin’ in my own back yard”
Written with apostrophes to suggest lazy, carefree, informal speech. Dancing is a jovial past time, not an activity of someone affected by oppression. She doesn’t have gold mines pumping in her back garden; it’s a simile for being rich on the inside.
The poems have a similar overall message, but they portray their feelings in completely different ways.
Angelou uses simple personification in the traditional way,
“You may shoot me with your words”
Simple and effective, it shows that words can have the impact and force of a bullet.
But like a bullet, words can be pulled out, disregarded as a temporary inconvenience; leaving a small scar but not much else.
‘Half-Caste’ uses clouds as an image for mild, perhaps unintentional racism, stopping the talents and personalities of ethnic people shining through to the ground and lighting up people’s lives.
“England weather
nearly always half-caste
in fact some o dem cloud
half cast till dem overcast
so spiteful dem don’t want de sun pass”
This part of the poem is different from the rest of the piece. It does not seem immediately angry, and it is not sarcastic. The only tone I can imagine this part being read in is a sad one.
‘Half-Caste’ holds a sarcastic tone in most of it, as other emotions such as frustration and sadness leak through. It builds up well to a great climax, where the message is made clear. ‘Still I Rise’ has a patronising tone throughout, and appears to be talking to Maya’s abuser and racist people on the whole. Both poets are forgiving and understanding. I enjoyed Agard’s poem more than Angelou’s. I felt his view was more original and the use of humour in his piece kept me interested. Maya’s couplets were entertaining enough, and the message of her poem is just as relevant as ‘Half-Caste’ but I felt it was lacking an interesting structure. Though I can’t choose between the two endings, both included repetition and were creative. The Morals of both poems are anti-racism and display messages of hope and pride. Although I can relate to neither, I found them both to be memorable reads.
